Astronomy & Astrophysics

Free access article

Issue		A&A Volume 386, Number 1, April IV 2002
Page(s)		97 - 113
Section		Extragalactic astronomy
DOI		10.1051/0004-6361:20020119

A&A 386, 97-113 (2002)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20020119

The Parkes quarter-Jansky flat-spectrum sample

I. Sample selection and source identifications

C. A. Jackson¹, J. V. Wall², P. A. Shaver³, K. I. Kellermann⁴, I. M. Hook² and M. R. S. Hawkins⁵

¹ Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, Australia
² Department of Astrophysics, University of Oxford, Nuclear and Astrophysics Laboratory, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
³ European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany
⁴ National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903-2475, USA
⁵ Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH3 9HJ, UK

(Received 7 November 2001 / Accepted 22 January 2002 )

Abstract
We present a new sample of quarter-Jansky flat-spectrum radio sources selected to search for high-redshift quasars and to study the evolution of the flat-spectrum quasar population. The sample comprises 878 radio sources selected from the Parkes catalogues with spectral indices $\alpha^{5 \rm \thinspace GHz}_{2.7 \rm\thinspace GHz} \ge -$ 0.4 where $S_{\nu} \propto \nu^{\alpha}$ . The sample covers all right ascensions and the declination range from $-80\fdg0$ to $+2\fdg5$ , excluding low galactic latitudes ( $\mid b \mid < 10^{\circ}$ ) and the Magellanic Cloud regions. We have obtained improved radio source positions, firstly to reconfirm the majority of the existing identifications, and secondly, using digitized sky-survey data and deep B, Gunn- i and Gunn- z CCD-imaging, to find optical identifications for 223 previously-unidentified sources. We present the final catalogue of 878 flat-spectrum sources: 827 are compact radio sources identified with galaxies, quasars and BL Lac objects, 38 have either extended radio structure or are identified with Galactic objects (PN, HII or non-compact radio source), 4 are obscured by Galactic stars, and 9 (1 per cent of the total sample) remain unidentified.

Key words: catalogues -- radio continuum: galaxies -- BL Lac objects: general -- galaxies: general -- quasars: general

Offprint request: C. A. Jackson, cjackson@mso.anu.edu.au

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